COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Democratic Rep. Anthony Brown has more than $517,000 in the bank heading into the next campaign cycle, according to year-end reports filed with the Federal Election Commission, and a spokesman said he is confident the Maryland congressman will seek re-election in 2020.
Brown was “extremely humbled and grateful” to have been re-elected with 78 percent of the vote – increasing his margins in Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties, said Matthew Verghese, Brown’s communications director, in a written statement.
Brown will continue serving in the 4th Congressional District “as part of a new Democratic majority that will open doors of opportunity for our kids, restore accountability to our government and ensure the United States remains safe and respected around the world,” Verghese said.
Brown’s FEC report showed he received more than $900,000 in contributions for the 2017-’18 cycle, with about $270,000 coming from in-state. Of the approximately $555,000 his campaign spent during that cycle, a large chunk went to fundraising consulting services.
Brown was challenged in the 2018 general election by Republican George McDermott, but the challenger did not file an FEC report. Candidates are required to register and file with the FEC if they raise or spend more than $5,000.
Reached by phone Thursday, McDermott said he “absolutely” plans to run against Brown again next year. McDermott, who described himself as semi-retired and the owner of a small construction company, received 19.9 percent of the vote in the 2018 election.
“I signed up already [with the state elections board] for 2020,” McDermott said. “Last year I was only invited to one event. The whole campaign cost me $125 on top of my filing fee, and I am proud of it because I’m at least out here doing what God wants me to do, and I’m not giving up.”
McDermott added, “If I get 10 votes, fine, if I get 100 votes, if I get 10,000 votes or 100,000, that’s all in God’s hands.” He said his goal “every day of the year is to wake up and educate one person a day.”
Libertarian David Bishop also appeared on the general election ballot for the congressional district in 2018, but did not report raising or spending any money.
Brown, a former lieutenant governor in Maryland who lost a bid for governor in 2014 to Republican Larry Hogan, was elected to Maryland’s 4th District in 2016. During that election cycle, he raised over $1.6 million and ended with over $171,000 cash on hand, according to the FEC.
Verghese said the congressman “is proud of the enormous support he has received from Maryland and around the country as he fought to advance a progressive agenda in the U.S. House and deliver for Anne Arundel and Prince George’s” counties.
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